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Hey guys, I just placed my order for a Kasina... I had a proteus years ago with the big leds, and I loved it!
I cant wait to see what the kasina is capable of.
I dowloaded the basic editing software jsut to get a feel for it... Can you adjust each of the colour channels in this editor? I played with the procyon editor before deciding to go with the kasina, and noticed it had a lot of controls for each color channel.
Anyway, it should be here within the week... Cant wait!!
:)
Hi Quoiyaien,
It is wonderful that you have made the choice to update to a Kasina. I think you will enjoy it very much.
The sessions that the editor creates allow you to change the color in realtime on the Kasina unit as the session plays back. This type of session is similar to the Proteus ones but now you can try out different colors. The ColorSets are described here: http://www.mindplacesupport.com/foru...-Kasina-Part-1 . As this post indicates, the color remapping also works on AudioStrobe.
Hope this helps,
Scott
Thanks :)
Im still a bit unclear, can I adjust the amplitude, frequency, phase , waveform etc, on each color like I can on the procyon editor, or do I need mind workstation or neuroprogrammer to do this? Or is this a procyon specific feature?
This is only a small reason why I wanted a new LS machine mind you, and am actually most excited about trying the spectrostrobe sessions.
Since im here, I may as well give you a bit on my background...
I have been interested in altered states since I was a teenager... it started with the usual psychedelic exploration in my late teens, early twenties, and quickly progressed into meditation.
Now at 31, I have been formally training in Soto Zen for 10 years now, and am actually embarking on the path of a monastic. I will be entering full time residency at a monastery to begin more intensive training and my intention is to ultimately become a Zen Teacher.
So meditation is a big part of my life, and I seek to explore all possible avenues to get a better understanding of the complexities of the human mind. Another tool in the tool box so to speak.
Im really excited to try a period of zazen with the kasina! My practice is basically to open to the entire field of experiencing all at once (seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling, and thinking) and im interested to see how that goes with some sensory input. I always find practice easier when I have something to hear, like birds or rain, so Im excited to see what happens when I have light and sound at specific frequencies in my field of awareness.
Im really excited to see where this exploration takes me. Thanks for your commitment to this field of exploration :)
Im very much looking forward to the kasina, and have been watching whatever videos I can over and over again, lol
Thanks for your help, im sure youll be seeing more or me :)
Cheers!
Q
Hello, Quoiyaien--
Thanks for sharing your life path and long experience with Zen with us, and we are looking forward to hearing about your experiences with your Kasina. We view light and sound stimulation in part as a way to help people 'break state' since it's harder to think about things during a session. I've been using light and sound as part of my (intermittent) practice for 25 years now and have never lost my enthusiasm for what it can accomplish. We see light and sound as also a means to access other interesting altered states of consciousness, and some sessions, particularly in the 'mind art' category, can elicit a mild psychedelic experience--perfect for those of us who used psychedelic when young and who don't wish to subject themselves to that level of intensity any more... :-)
Enjoy!
-Robert
Wow, just ran a quick spectrostrobe session (phobos) to get a sense of what this thing can do, and I must say im VERY impressed! It was totally otherworldly.. when I tried applying my pratice, I could feel the boundaries of my body disappearing... Man o man, I cant wait to dive into this thing a little more thoroughly!
There was a small issue with the glasses (the LED's are mounted a little lopsided, giving a slightly different brightness to each eye) but other than that this thing is amazing! I cant wait to start programming my own sessions!
So I programmed a basic session using the editor, and I must say that Im not that thrilled with it (the editor that is, the kasina is quite amazing!)... it definitely does the job, but even with the color mapping settings the color palette seems rather limited... I cant seem to get away from the basic colors (minus random mind you, but Id like more control than that for a $350 device...)... Id like something a little more akin to the procyon editor where I can customize the light sequence... Do I have to buy Mind Workstation or Neuroprogrammer to get more control of the colors?
This is a small gripe mind you, as the kasina itself is quite amazing! I just wish the editor had a little more flexibility in regards to color...
Also, the place I bought it from (Ayrmetes) actually sent me a replacement pair of glasses, without even a pic first! Thats customer support I tell ya! (thanks Marisa :) )
So we shall see where this new adventure takes me... I havent had my Proteus since I moved (5 years ago) so I am really stoked to be able to play with all this again..
Cheers!
Q
Hi Quoiyaien,
It is always a compromise between power and simplicity. The Kasina attempts to straddle both worlds. The editor is intentionally limited to produce quick and simple results that you can use for entrainment protocols or as easy tests of initial settings. It will in no way ever approach what can be done with SpectraStrobe. SpectraStrobe is audio control signals and can be made with any Digital Audio Workstation or MIDI sequencer. There is a demo version of an advanced sequencer and SpectraStrobe programming patches on the SD card. This is the MuLab patches by Craig Tice.
The best way to get fast and professional results though is Transparent Corp products. Mind Workstation is the most powerful. NeuroProgrammer SpectraStrobe support is in testing and should be released any time. You will have to decide which one meets your needs.
Granted, we set the bar pretty high with onboard sessions as regards color and complexity, so I can understand some disappointment when out of the box people try to produce sequences that are comparable. It just takes a bit of learning and trial and error. We worked on these sessions for many months. So, even with Transparent products you will have to learn and experiment to get complex results.
BTW, with SpectraStrobe you can do almost anything you can imagine. It is almost unlimited in possibilities...
Hope this helps,
Scott
Hello again, Q... glad that Ayrmetes got that glasses issue resolved quickly, and apologies for the inconvenience.
The KBS Editor was designed to create more traditional 'lights plus beeps or beats' sessions quickly, and creates sessions with two color channels. The higher numbered, morphing ColorSets are engaged. We opted to have MWS (and soon NP3) as our main 'full-on' Editor for SpectraStrobe signals due to the complexity in handling the signals and since MWS is such a robust and well supported product. But there are other free options available--the MuLab plugins Craig Tice created, and there is a free version of MuLab available in case you want to dive right in to session creation.
In addition to the 47 included SS sessions, about a dozen more are now available on our Mindplace SpectraStrobe channel on SoundCloud, with more additions in the coming weeks. These are all free as well, so they should keep you busy (in a quiet way) as you delve further into session creation yourself.
Enjoy!
Robert
Thanks guys, I appreciate the info :)
Oh, btw, you can call me Aaron...
Cheers!
I do have one more question... Is there any way to specify which color I want to use in the basic sessions (simple binaural beats and lights)? Im not necessarily looking for complex cascading color sequences, but lets say I want a different shade of blue than I can find in the colorsets, (or a different color entirely for the whole session), can I do that in the basic editor?
If not, that would be a decent feature, like a drop down menu, or a color palate like that in paint programs or something... I think being able to choose your color would be a great addition for people that dont want to buy extra software and want a little more flexibility than the colorsets provide... Or am I just dreaming, and doing that is more complicated than I think? lol
Regardless, I am extremely happy with my kasina and will probably check out the trial of mind workstation asap... I cant wait to start playing with spectrostrobe! I am a musician (guitar) and would love to be able to add a light show to my compositions :)
Hi Aaron,
It is unlikely in the short term. Here is why... The ColorSets are compiled into the Operating System of the Kasina. Thus, the editor has no ability to address or alter them. The KBS standard is very simple right now. It is kind of an added bonus as the Kasina is really designed for SpectraStrobe playback and advanced audio sessions. Our next priority in expanding the KBS format is to allow the playback of audio files from the SD card along with these sessions. That is consuming our development efforts for KBS.
If you are a musician then give MuLab a look as it has a 'color organ' type feature in the SpectraStrobe patches and you have more control over the spectrum mapping and modulation of the lights/colors. Playing live guitar along with that is fun. I have done it many times.
Hope this helps,
Scott
Thanks Scott, that is most helpful :)
I can see a whole new approach to live shows with your new wall projector!
What intrigues me most about the Kasina is its potential for development... That is why I ultimately went with it over the procyon, and I am SOOOO glad I did :D
I just want to share an experience I just had... I have a pair of really nice studio headphones, so i opted to use those for my first full journey...
I just wanted to see what the kasina could do, so I queued up A starlit night and took my seat..
Within minutes I was overcome by a world of colour, it was simply unreal! I remember exclaming to myself "this is INSANE!"...
A few minutes went by and things started to get pretty fast.. I could feel a buzzing through my whole body and then it was like the light fell through my head and I was floating formless in a field of colour... it was like I had full 360 degree vision, it was quite remarkable! It only lasted a few minutes and then I fell back into my normal perception as the strobing changed...
What followed next can only be described as a phantasmagorical cacophony of constantly shifting geometric patterns, folding into themselves revealing a surprising complexity...
Then came the pink wall with the eyeballs... I wont go into that one, but something shifted and a lotus flower blossomed in the center of my visual field...
Then it all faded as the session ended. I continued to watch the flowing green foam dance behind my closed eyelids for a few minutes as I reflected on the experience...
What strikes me most about this, is it sounds like I am writing a trip report for some wild psychedelic or something! Was this real? WTF? That was completely, utterly mind blowing!
Then I moved onto astroturf, and this was a bit more subdued... quite nice, but nowhere near as mind bending as the first go... a totally different state of mind...
Yeah, I think im hooked :D
Hey Aaron,
I know exactly what you are saying :) I have been sucked into similar vortices (or vortexes) many,many times using AVS. There is a point at which something clicks and if you 'lean into it', that is let yourself go and don't 'pop out' by being surprised or startled, then off you go.. A Starlit Night is like 'full-on' mode as far as the Kasina is concerned with the current session set. It pushes the boundaries of pure neurological visual illusions by ramping among the most 'potent' regions. Again, if you let it, the mind can take off from there..
The music of this session too is 'tingling' with a strong 'takeoff' and 'forward thrust' later in the session. As stated before, these sessions were worked on for many months, so very little is purely by accident... of course, the frequencies and sound affect people in different ways, but your report is close to what I have experienced with this session as well.
On guitar, I also wanted to mention that there have been some cool advances in software and hardware for MIDI guitar. Jam Origin http://jamorigin.com/products/midi-guitar/ tracks really well, and you don't have to adjust your playing much (at least I don't) It also has several ways to map notes and alternate tuning and such. For hardware, the Sonuus Music Port works very well too http://www.sonuus.com/products_i2m_mp.html . I do have to be a bit more 'clean' with my attack on this but the pitch bend tracking is really fun. Some of my lead 'wind' tracks are actually played on guitar using this.
Anyway, with a MIDI guitar setup and a sequencer you can assign colors directly to the notes that you play. So you can literally 'play' the Kasina. MIDI keyboards can do this too but it depends on what you are most expressive and comfortable with.
Enjoy the ride,
Scott
Ok, so I just got the free version of mulab, and just downloaded and copied all the kasina plugins into their folders... Im looking forward to diving into this, should be fun :)
Hi,
Pleased you're enjoying the Kasina. Hope you have fun with MuLab. Let me know if you have any questions/comments on the MUX presets.
Cheers,
Craig
Holy crap! I just tried running Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon through the colour organ on my kasina, and I must say, that was one hell of an experience!!
At first, things started out nicely with blues and greens, and as the album built in intensity, red started creeping in more and more, until the entire spectrum of colours was morphing and dancing to the music...
"Any color you like" was absolutely mind blowing! "Money" also gave me a really spectacular show..
For the first couple songs, I cycled through the colour organ settings, but ultimately ended up on 200% slow fade for the rest.
That was just too awesome!
Ha, haven't tried that but will. How is it that Dark Side of the Moon just works for everything? If there was ever a divinely inspired album, that is it.
I used the remastered version for this session, as I find the stereo mix to be a bit more defined, which greatly enhances the left/right separation of the lights